D&D Creator dead
Gary Gygax, the father of Dungeons & Dragons died yesterday at age 69. That said, I think
heartirony made a great post about his impact, so I quote him here:
"In days of yore our organized entertainment options were severely limited. Ancient wargaming was about as much fun as making a diorama for elementary school, only instead of quickly sampling an encylopedia article for the inspiration, you'd study military history. I suppose it also attracted the same sort of folk who really get off on model railroads. The state of LARPing was even more dire. It was also dominated by historical re-enactors who basically went camping instead of properly hitting each other with boffers or making mead or plotting to overthrow the prince, as is proper and good.
Gary gave us two enormous breakthroughs: a melange of compelling fantasy elements lifted from Tolkein, Stoker, Shelley, Lovecraft, and the more popular myths of the ancient world and the 1-to-1 representation between player and character. The rules gave us a system to tell collaborative stories and our mindscapes have never since been the same. Every RPG, most high-fantasy novels, Ren Faires, the SCA, and cosplay are all direct descendents. I think even modern geekdom itself, the passionate pursuit of non-mainstream weirdness with fellow enthusiasts, is a grandchild of Gygax.
Tabletop gaming is on its way out, of course. Computer based RPGs and even collectible card games require much less setup than a tabletop game and so give more bang for the buck for casual enthusiasts. However, our expanded consciousness is here to stay."
From the comic Penny Arcade
heartirony made a great post about his impact, so I quote him here:
"In days of yore our organized entertainment options were severely limited. Ancient wargaming was about as much fun as making a diorama for elementary school, only instead of quickly sampling an encylopedia article for the inspiration, you'd study military history. I suppose it also attracted the same sort of folk who really get off on model railroads. The state of LARPing was even more dire. It was also dominated by historical re-enactors who basically went camping instead of properly hitting each other with boffers or making mead or plotting to overthrow the prince, as is proper and good.
Gary gave us two enormous breakthroughs: a melange of compelling fantasy elements lifted from Tolkein, Stoker, Shelley, Lovecraft, and the more popular myths of the ancient world and the 1-to-1 representation between player and character. The rules gave us a system to tell collaborative stories and our mindscapes have never since been the same. Every RPG, most high-fantasy novels, Ren Faires, the SCA, and cosplay are all direct descendents. I think even modern geekdom itself, the passionate pursuit of non-mainstream weirdness with fellow enthusiasts, is a grandchild of Gygax.
Tabletop gaming is on its way out, of course. Computer based RPGs and even collectible card games require much less setup than a tabletop game and so give more bang for the buck for casual enthusiasts. However, our expanded consciousness is here to stay."
From the comic Penny Arcade